Chapter 23.1 - Hertzial

*Bang*

The two gigantic white doors closed after all the children were thrown inside. The man looked towards the floating ashen-faced Sena and the corpse on top of the black runic curved floor, “I've made arrangements for you and your husband.”

Although Sena could hear the man’s voice, her gaze was glued to the majestic white door. Bitterness rose within her heart as the sight of the doors gradually became smaller. “It will probably be a few years before you are able to see your daughter again,” the man spoke without a care in his voice. Immediately, a pang of pain struck Sena’s heart as she could not help but ask in a listless voice, “so, that’s the last time I will be able to see her?”

The man did not reply, fueling the emptiness within Sena’s heart. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she slowly distance herself from the place she last saw her daughter. “Mommy’s sorry," she muttered her last words before falling into deep silence.

The man flew to the wall, opposite of the white door within the chamber, and placed his hand on it. A dark void opened up in front of him as he entered, bringing both the corpse and the woman inside.

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~ Within the white world

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As all four children were floating within the white world, their minds slowly turned blank as they fell into a deep, silent slumber. A sharp, white light flashed by their heads as they closed their eyes, leaving them seemingly oblivious of what had happened.

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~ Within Shi Yan’s dream realm

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The whole space trembled for a moment and Byakko roared, “Who dares to enter this space?!”

The man faded in, appearing in front of Byakko. He gave no response as he nonchalantly walked towards the white tiger.

“YOU!” Byakko’s eyes seemed to turn blood shot red as he stood up. If he did not have the chains tying him down at the moment, the tiger would have pounced on him. “What are you doing here?!”

The man took his time to look around the space to finally open his mouth to speak. “There's no need for you to fret. I'm not here to destroy his soul.”

Byakko gave a heated snort as his piercing gaze stuck onto the man. "Then what are you here for?"

“I wish to understand this boy....what makes him tick.” The man explained nonchalantly, “I'm also here to visit you, but a visit would be overly pleasant sounding.”

Byakko gave a look of deep anger but within his heart, he was trembling. He knew that he was no match to this man even if he was at the apex of his strength. Now, with his limbs chained up, the white tiger had no hope of resisting. Worst, trapped within the boy, he had no means of escape as well.

It was a hopeless situation but even if the white tiger knew, he could not show fear. At least, in front of his enemies, he had pride and honor to uphold.

“There's no need to get so riled up Byakko, I'm not going to kill you since you are useful to me.” The man sat down in front of the tiger to display his non-hostile stance. “Your inheritance is useful to this boy, likewise your superficial guidance could come in handy from time to time.”

Byakko’s brow twitched, [Superficial Guidance?! I may not be as old as you but i certainly know more about the world than some god-damned fossil that died long ago!] however, even if the white tiger wished to curse out his mind, he was wise enough to know the difference between being rash and taking a risk. As long as he did not provoke this lifeless man any further, he had a chance to survive. Taking a deep breath, Byakko calmed himself down and sat down again, without allowing his gaze to fetter in the slightest.

“Then what do you wish to do?” Byakko asked with a hint of haughtiness in his voice.

The man looked at a black ring on his finger, engraved with small images of two wolves circulating the black gem. This ring was none other than a Dimensional Ring, capable of storing objects within it like a bag. However, the storage space is many times the size of the gem that contains it. With just a thought, a gourd came out of the ring. The man took the gourd to his hand and shook it. *splash splash* the man looked towards Byakko and asked, “care for a drink?”

Byakko’s eyes twitched with the man’s display of nonchalance. Here he was, worried of death, while this man was taking alcohol from his ring. [does he think of me as a fool? How could that small bottle of alcohol possibly be enough to satisfy me?] Byakko thought as he looked at the gourd bottle the size of two man’s fist. The white tiger hesitated to choose and the man spoke in explanation. “You have been locked up for far too long. You already forgotten that this bottle contains an unlimited supply of alcohol.”

Byakko eyes widened as his vision shook. “That bottle, where did you get it from?”

“Your memory sure has degraded over the years… at least you now realise what this thing is.” The man cracked into a smile that made Byakko’s spine shiver in fright. “Yes, this is none other than the bottle the Golden Dragon King held!”

“Impossible! This whole place would have been razed if you actually stole it from him!” Byakko could not help but yell in shock.

The man scratched his head in frustration. “Ahh! why is it that the first thing you associate me with is the image of a robber?”

“…” Byakko did not make any further comment but in his mind, he was already beginning to ask questions.

“Whatever. My mood is now ruined for a nice drink anyways.” The man placed the bottle back into his ring and placed the palm of his hands on the floor behind him. “Let's get down to business then.”

“Business?” Byakko could not help but frown.

“Of course. Why else would I waste my time here?” the man spoke in a lethargic tone.

[Then why are you here?!] Byakko screamed in his head but dared not to voice out his thoughts.

“First things first.” The man decided to sit upright and point to the tiger, “you are not allowed to speak of anything you know to the boy inside of my trials.”

A piece of paper flashed out from the man’s ring and he commanded. "Byakko, brand mark it!”

Byakko’s face ashen as he saw the piece of paper in front of him. This was a Soul Contract. A Soul Emblem is used to brand mark a Soul Contract. If the agreement is voided, the person who voided it will have their Soul Emblem eaten.

Each cultivator will have a Soul Emblem once they reach a certain point in cultivation and each Soul Emblem is unique to the cultivator. No two Soul Emblems are the same. That is because no two souls are the same. A Soul Emblem is formed from the soul of a person and the only representative of a perceivable link between the body, mind and soul. If destroyed, the link will shatter and the cultivator will face a fate worse than death.

Naturally, each cultivator only has one Soul Emblem and it is not something to trifle with. Brandmarking anything, be it Soul Contract or objects will leave a direct link to the Soul Emblem. If anything were to happen to the Brand marking, it will inevitably affect the Soul Emblem as well.

“Why are you hesitating? Do you think that you have done no wrong?” The man opened his mouth to speak but his tone remained emotionless. “Do you think I’m asking you to brand mark it? I’m ordering you to!”

Byakko continued to hesitate but his eyes kept staring at a board that the man took out. When he saw the familiar figure depicted inside, floating asleep in a white, endless world, he could not help but shout out “Reina!”

The man took a glance at Byakko’s frightened expression and looked back into the screen. By lightly clenching his fist, Reina’s whole face distorted with pain.

“STOP!” Byakko roared.

“Shut up! Just do as I say and your daughter will be kept alive.” The man said with a snort.

Immediately, a wisp of white light came out of his skull and landed on the Soul Contract. The white light disintegrated into nothingness, to leave a clear brand mark on the Soul Contract.

Byakko’s brand mark was glowing pure white, containing traces of dark black within it. It depicted a tiger’s mouth trying to devour a king. When the man saw the Brandmark finally landing on the Soul Contract, he gave a slight grin but quickly readjusted his expression.

“I've did what you have asked! Please, let my daughter go!” Byakko glared with a gloomy hatred on his eyes. However, as though the man did not take any notice, he continued to speak. “Onto the next matter at hand.” The man stood up and looked towards the chains on Byakko. “Do you wished to be free? I can give you a new body if you’d like.”

Byakko gave a cold snort as his brows wrinkled. “What's the price?”

“You moving away from that spot you are stuck to.” The man took out a huge gold embroiled saber from his Dimensional Ring, ready to cleave the chains. However, he stopped moving once Byakko yelled. “Don’t you dare!”

The man looked at Byakko as though he had expected such a response. Putting back his saber into the ring, he looked at the white tiger in the eye, “alright.” His face remained tranquil but in the man’s heart, he was secretly a little jovial.

“Alright?!” Byakko could not help but clench his teeth in rage. [You would actually dare to try a Soul Attack within this boy’s dream realm?! Are you insane?! This whole entire world could collapse and the boy would die! Isn't he suppose a candidate for your goddamn Inheritance?!]

“Yes, I'm not going to force someone who is unwilling.” The man walked forward and moved closer to the tiger, “now, for the third task.”

The man stopped in front of Byakko, as though he was waiting for the white tiger to ask out of curiosity.

The white tiger took a deep breath and asked, “What!”

The man lips wrapped into a distorted smile, “you and me. We are both going to watch this boys’ entire life. All he had experienced and all that he knows will be understood by both of us.”

“Why are you doing this?” Byakko could not help but raise the question. To experience a person’s entire life, that would mean that they have to stay here for his entire lifespan! Currently, Shi Yan was seven years old, that would mean that they had to stay here for seven years!

“It's simple. Don’t you wish to know more about the person that’s going to be the successor of your inheritance?” the man gave a smirk as he took out a small black box from the ring. When Byakko’s eyes lands on the black box, he could not help shiver in fright. “What is that?!” the tiger gasp as his eyes narrowed. He could feel a tremendous power sealed within that thing.

“It’s my little gift to the boy. Took me a few years to actually build it up…” the man said with a hint of pride.

[A few years? Don’t joke with me, Lumu. That thing obvious took close to the time you’ve been dead to make!] Byakko’s face turned dark after he realized something. [When did his name changed to Lumu?!]

Byakko roared, “What have you done to me?”

Lumu placed the black box on the ground as he calmly explained. “I did nothing. You were the one that left your brand mark on the Soul Contract.”

“Let me see the Soul Contract!” Byakko demanded. He had realized his unforgivable mistake. He was way too rash. He completely played into this man’s wretched hands when Lumu had threatened his daughter.

Lumu gave a thought for a moment before opening his mouth to speak. “No. There is no need for you to know what you have signed.”

[BASTARD!!!] Byakko’s eyes turned bloodshot as he grinded his razor-sharp canine in rage.

“Calm down. You don’t have to worry about breaking the rules. Unlike the usual Soul Contracts, mine has a binding runes attached to it. Furthermore, you would be notified before breaking a rule.” Lumu continue to focus on the black cubic box, not sparing a glance towards Byakko.

Suddenly, the whole place shook, causing Byakko to panic. His paws subconsciously jumped around in search of balance. Meanwhile, his gaze became erratic, trying to look for the source of this fluctuation. However, it was only till he had heard a loud shout, that he knew what was going on.

“There we go!” The box on the ground, quickly expanded to nearly the size of a mansion as golden runes started to appear on it. Gradually, the runes became clear, displaying its intricateness. Bigger runes were made up of smaller runes and as the whole box got bigger, the golden runes started to emit some form of glowing particles.

In every aspect, the black box seemed to be designed as a mess. Nearly every single spot was covered in runes, as though someone had completely vandalized it. Once it grew to nearly 200 meters in length, everything turned pitch black once again and the whole world returned back to its tranquil state.

“What did you just do?!” Byakko’s voice seemed shaken but it had welled up anger residing in it.

“Simply opening a gift. Now, catch!” Lumu flicked his wrist and the black box suddenly began to move.

Byakko tried to retreat but with the chains on his limbs, there was nowhere left to go. He desperately looked for means of escaping but failed to find even the glimmer of hope. All he could do was glare at the fast approaching box, nearly four times the size of him.

When Byakko tried to open his jaws to curse, the box accelerated and quickly engulfed him. The box turned slime-like. It easily accepted Byakko into it, producing only a faint ripple on its surface.

Lumu displayed a smile and walked towards the box. He placed his hand on it and closed his eyes, allowing the box to suck him in.

Suddenly, the box lit up. All the golden runes on it that vanished all had reappeared. This time, they were no longer stationary and repeatedly moved to form patterns.